Unit Quiz one Flashcards
The scientist who worked out the mathematics of the connections between electricity, magnetism, and light in the 19th century was:
Question 1Select one:
a.
James Clerk Maxwell
b.
Wilhelm Wien
c.
Ludwig Boltzmann
d.
Albert Einstein
e.
Isaac Newton
a.
James Clerk Maxwell
According to the geocentric view, everything in the heavens had to go around the Earth, which was the center of the universE. What objects did Galileo discover with his telescope that clearly didn’t go around the Earth?
Question 2Select one:
a.
stars in the Milky Way that just kept going in a straight line
b.
moons around the planet Jupiter
c.
Pluto
d.
the Earth’s Moon
e.
a ring around the Sun
b.
moons around the planet Jupiter
The asteroid belt is
Question 3Select one:
a.
a region of icy chunks of material beyond the orbit of Pluto
b.
a series of orbital zones around the Moon, from which fragments drop down to form craters
c.
a new fashion accessory being sold by NASA to raise funds for future missions
d.
is a region around the Earth from which meteors (shooting stars) are observed to drop
e.
a zone where rocky chunks orbit between Mars and Jupiter
e.
a zone where rocky chunks orbit between Mars and Jupiter
On the celestial sphere, halfway between the celestial poles lies the
Question 4Select one:
a.
celestial hungarian
b.
path of the Sun on any given day
c.
celestial equator
d.
horizon
e.
zenith for all observers
c.
When astronomers do radar astronomy, they
Question 5Select one:
a.
they bounce a radar beam off the surface of solid objects in our solar system
b.
they send information from one telescope to another on Earth using radar waves
c.
look for radar beams from civilizations on other planets
d.
they try to avoid getting speeding tickets on their way hope from the observatory
e.
they send out radar waves that can eventually reach and measure other galaxies
a.
Which of the following statements about forces is FALSE?
Question 6Select one:
a.
forces always occur in equal and opposite pairs
b.
where there is no force, objects continue to move the way they were moving
c.
forces cause an acceleration to take place
d.
forces change the momentum of a body
e.
there are places on Earth where all forces are absent
e.
there are places on Earth where all forces are absent
he Julian calendar made the significant advance of:
Question 7Select one:
a.
introducing the leap year, so that every fourth year had an extra day
b.
using the Moon’s motion to simplify the way the length of the year was calculated
c.
allowing everyone to sleep late on Saturdays
d.
defining time zones for the first time in the history of the world
e.
dropping 12 days from the year that was in use before it
a.
introducing the leap year, so that every fourth year had an extra day
Why do astronauts (and cans of soft drink) float around in the Shuttle instead of falling?
Question 8Select one:
a.
the rules Newton developed for gravity only hold on Earth, not once you get into space
b.
the Shuttle is falling around the Earth (and everything aboard is in free fall)
c.
the Shuttle is so far from the Earth, gravity is negligible
d.
the Shuttle has an antigravity device on board, developed by NASA
e.
the Shuttle’s gravity balances the Earth’s, so that the net gravity is zero
b.
the Shuttle is falling around the Earth (and everything aboard is in free fall)
Why do many people consider Isaac Newton one of the greatest scientists who ever lived?
Question 9Select one:
a.
He figured out the mathematical form of a law of universal gravity
b.
all of the above
c.
none of the above (not a, not b, not c)
d.
He combined the work of Galileo, Brahe, and Kepler into one framework
e.
He formulated the laws that govern all motion in the universe
b.
all of the above
How fast do electro-magnetic waves travel?
Question 10Select one:
a.
at different speeds, depending on the temperature of the atoms that produce them
b.
they always have zero speed
c.
at the speed of sound
d.
at the speed of charge
e.
at the speed of light
e.
at the speed of light
An astronomer discovers a new star and wants to measure its temperature. She would typically do this by:
Question 11Select one:
a.
measuring the intensity of radio waves the star gives off
b.
sending a graduate student with a very long (and durable) thermometer to the star’s vicinity
c.
measuring the Doppler shift of its spectral lines
d.
making a blackbody curve and finding the wavelength of the peak (maximum)
e.
measuring how much light the star reflects
d.
making a blackbody curve and finding the wavelength of the peak (maximum)
The scientist who formulated the three laws of planetary motion by analyzing the data on the precise location of planets in the sky was:
Question 12Select one:
a.
you can’t fool me, we inherited these laws from ancient Greek thinkers whose names are lost
b.
J. C. Adams
c.
Galileo Galilei
d.
Johannes Kepler
e.
Tycho Brahe
d.
Johannes Kepler
To come up with the precise mathematical form of his law of gravity, Newton first had to invent the mathematical techniques that we now call:
Question 13Select one:
a.
calculus
b.
ratio and proportions
c.
algebra
d.
scientific notation
e.
angular momentum
a.
calculus
What problem has precession caused for many of the schools of astrology?
Question 14Select one:
a.
Because of precession, some of the planets that astrologers use to construct horoscopes no longer orbit the Sun
b.
You can’t fool me, precession has not affected anything about astrology
c.
Because of precession, the constellations are no longer lined up with the astrological signs that are named after them; since astrology was set up, the two have slipped one sign apart
d.
Because of precession, Mars no longer shows retrograde motion and so all the horoscopes done using Mars turn out to be wrong
e.
Because of precession, the stars making up the constellation figures (like Leo the Lion) have moved so far apart, they no longer look like their names
c.
Because of precession, the constellations are no longer lined up with the astrological signs that are named after them; since astrology was set up, the two have slipped one sign apart
Which of the following has a longer integration time (can collect light for a longer period of time) than the human eye?
Question 15Select one:
a.
a CCD (charge coupled device)
b.
all of the above
c.
photographic plates
d.
photographic film
e.
none of the above
b.
all of the above
What would you have to change about the Earth to stop our planet from having significantly different seasons?
Question 16Select one:
a.
the orbit of the Moon around it
b.
the amount of water on its surface
c.
its diameter
d.
its distance from the Sun
e.
the tilt of its axis
e.
the tilt of its axis
Why is an image recorded with a CCD better for astronomers than an image recorded on photographic film or plates?
Question 17Select one:
a.
all of the above
b.
CCD’s allow more accurate measurements of the brightness of each part of the image
c.
CCD’s have digital output that can go directly to a computer
d.
CCD’s are more efficient; more of the light is recorded and not wasted
e.
none of the above
a.
all of the above
ou are on a camping trip, far away from city lights. You look up into the dark night sky, and see lots of stars, some brighter, some dimmer. All the stars you see with your unaided eye are
Question 20Select one:
a.
equally close to the Sun
b.
outside the universe
c.
just reflections of the Sun from a shiny surface beyond Pluto
d.
in our solar system
e.
in the Milky Way Galaxy
e.
in the Milky Way Galaxy
An astronomer observes two ordinary stars. The first one turns out to be twice as hot as the seconD. This means that the first one radiates:
Question 21Select one:
a.
half as much energy as the second
b.
this problem cannot be solved with just the information we were given
c.
twice as much energy as the second
d.
roughly the same amount of energy as the second
e.
about 16 times the energy of the second
e.
about 16 times the energy of the second
The planet in our solar system whose orbit actually brings it inside the orbit of another planet is:
Question 27Select one:
a.
Neptune
b.
Mars
c.
Earth
d.
Mercury
e.
Pluto
e.
Pluto
Astronomical observatories have been available since ancient times, and many cultures set aside special sites for astronomical observations. The thing modern observatories have that was missing from these older observatories until about 1610 was:
Question 28Select one:
a.
telescopes
b.
a method of keeping good records
c.
a dark site, where lights did not get in the way
d.
graduate students or other assistants for sharing the astronomer’s work
e.
a way of measuring from what general direction in the sky a beam of light was coming
a.
telescopes
